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Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Jesus, it's cold out. Weather.com says it's 21 degrees out, but feels like 7. I would say that is spot on. I was dressed correctly this morning, but the wind gets you no matter what. I ran 8 miles and had to use Strava on my phone because I left my watch (hopefully) in Connor's wrestling bag last night. I didn't look at the app until I got back from the run because looking at the phone during the run is annoying. I ran an extended version of the run I did yesterday. I didn't worry about pace at all today though, not even on my big climb. I just wanted to feel good about the run.

How I felt running today.

It turns out that the run went really well. I ran 8 miles in 1:01:47. My splits for my miles were the following:7:487:097:267:117:307:359:237:38Can you guess which one I ran on the uphill for .75 mile? Other than that mile, my splits are solid. I like seeing them get lower and lower, now down to the lower 7:00's. I have 21 miles in for the week in the first 3 days. Tomorrow, I run 4-5 as a recovery run. Friday I will finish with 5-6 depending on how I feel.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

I am in the process of ramping up my runs to make them longer and stretching out the miles. With 3 months until the 13.1, I want to start building significant time on runs from 7-12 miles. My initial pace goal for long runs is 7:45-8:00/mile. I want to hit those numbers for the next month. After I have built up some base, I will drop the long run pace accordingly. I want to get my long run pace down as low as I can obviously, with the idea that I will race my 13.1 under 7:00/mile and hit my marathon pace of 7:30/mile. Today, I ran 7 miles at a comfortable clip of 7:46/mile. I really ran at a smooth effort except for mile 6. There is a significant climb of about 3/4 of a mile at a grade of around 5%. I pushed it a bit to keep my pace up the hill as close to my overall pace as possible. That mile ended up being 8:08 so that was satisfying. I finished up with a strong, controlled mile 7 of 7:45, right on pace. My cadence is now a strong 185, right where I want it.As I posted to to my other channels, after my run I really wanted a warm drink that wasn't coffee. I know, I know, you didn't want coffee?!?!? I used a Nuun tab for recovery drink and I dropped it into hot water. It was like a nice warm cup of Mango tea, felt good.

Monday, December 11, 2017

In 97 days, I will line up in NYC for the half marathon. It will be my first attempt at really running a 13.1 hard, trying to get as far under 1:30 as I can. In the coming weeks, it's all about getting in the miles. After about a month from now, give or take, I will start to add in some serious speed work to combine speed and endurance. I firmly believe I can run close to 1:25, which is about a 6:30/mile pace for 13.1 miles. It might hurt, but I think I can do it.

Today, a chilly 6 miler in about 48:30, comfortable run on the chilly, snowy streets of Wyckoff. More to come on the plan and my Nuun Ambassadorship for 2018.

I woke up this morning and opened my email to some great news. I have been selected by the best hydration company on the market to spread the word on clean, effective hydration. As a 2018 Nuunbassador, I will be sharing my story to you as always, but I will also showcase how Nuun helps me along the way.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Well, this afternoon, run two started off smooth. I finished mile run in about 8:15 and felt good. Mile 2 was full of hills and ended up 8:31 and was not happy. It was quickly decided that the final 2 miles would be a real push to show run one that it meant business. Confused yet? I ran the last 2 miles of run two in 14 minutes, with the last mile in 6:45. I looked at the stats and my cadence for both runs was 184, love that.Overall, instead of a long 8 miler in around 64-66 minutes, I'm totally satisfied with 62 minutes of fast running broken into two 4 milers. I'm now at 20 for the week, working hard.

I just finished up run number 1 of the day. I ran a quick 4 miler in 31 minutes, with a final mile in 6:53. That's the first time I dipped a mile under 7 minutes during a run in awhile. I have and will race much faster than that, but to hit it in training is feels like I'm headed somewhere positive.I will head back out for my second 4 mile run of the day later. I do not have the time for an extended run today, but I can get a couple 4 milers in, so I can bank 8 miles for the day. That will bring me to 20 for the week so far, with a couple days left to get another run in. My goal is to go well above 20 every week.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

I think the screenshot below says it all. Super excited to be doing the 2018 United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon. The distance bodes well for me based on past performances, but I have only run on one course before. Luckily, it was a hilly one. I look forward to pointing my training directly at the half. My time goal has loosely been 1:25 for it, which ironically is the time qualifier for the marathon and my age group. Could this be how I get into the TCS NYC Marathon for 2018?

My block of time for running shriveled up quickly this morning. In order to be productive and still get a workout in, I used about 35-40 minutes for cross training and jumping rope. Here's the workout from today:5 minute warmup jumping rope5X through sets of---- Push ups Lunges Curl upsI only took a couple seconds between the sets of exercises above.I then did 5 more minutes of jump rope.3X through sets of---- Pull ups Jumping Jacks Air SquatsI finished with a final 5 minutes of jump rope. The whole session took me about 35 minutes and was a good, non running workout. I have some creative plans for tomorrow and Friday to get back some of the miles I lost today. More on that after I get into it tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

It's a warmer December day and humid out as it's on and off rain in the forecast. I overdressed a little on the run and was a bit warm. I fixed it as best as I could mid run by unzipping my base layer and taking off my winter hat. I would much rather be too warm than too cold.

I ran a smooth 6 miler on some hills today without really caring about the pace. I just clicked the miles off and felt good coming off of 6 miles yesterday. Over the next few weeks, it is time to ramp up the miles. I want to be at 25 or higher every week for awhile. I am at 12 in two days and want to hit mid to high twenties for the week. Tomorrow is the drawing for the NYC Half Marathon in March. Here's to hoping I get in with a couple buddies I coaxed into signing up for it. For the rest of you, frankly, I hope you don't take my spot! :)

Monday, December 4, 2017

First, I opened my email this morning to a surprise congrats message from the Funner Runner. Seems I won her big Nathan Sports pack this month as a giveaway for runner safety. That was a nice surprise on a Monday morning. Nathan makes great gear and I cannot wait to get my stuff. I may even take one of the products a do a giveaway here at the Daily Fitness Journal to celebrate.If you read my post the other day, you know I am trying to make Monday a good start to my running week. I have been a little slow to come back from the weekend lately, but today that was not the case. I ran a strong 6 miler today and finished at 47:35 total, averaging under 8:00/mile. I hit 5 miles at a pace of about 8:04/mile and decided to push it in the final mile to finish strong and get my pace at or below 8:00.